Читать книгу Intellectual Property Law for Engineers, Scientists, and Entrepreneurs - Howard B. Rockman - Страница 43

In the federal system, the trial courts, those in front of whom witnesses appear and juries decide cases as well as judges, are known as “district courts.” There are approximately 100 or so in the United States, such that no state is without a Federal District Court, and larger states have several. The number of presiding judges in a U.S. district court is determined by statute and is usually based on the number of federal cases arising in the district.

For a case to be tried in a federal court, it must meet at least one of several criteria:

1 The issue must arise from the U.S. Constitution, federal laws, or treaties of the United States.

2 It must arise in admiralty.

3 It must involve two or more states as parties.

4 It must involve the United States as a party.

5 It must be between citizens of different states, with the amount in controversy greater than $75,000.

6 It must be between a U.S. citizen and a foreign country or its citizens.

Most of the controversies handled involve federal statutes or the U.S. Constitution, better known as federal question cases, or diversity cases, which are those between citizens of different states. Patent, copyright, trademark, restraint of trade, federal tax, and infringement of personal rights alleged to violate the Constitution are typical of cases tried in the U.S. district courts.